


To Break a Curse

by stellacanta



Series: (to awaken) A Sleeping Kingdom [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 07:52:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18331796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellacanta/pseuds/stellacanta
Summary: They said that the house in the woods was cursed, that it had a giant beast inside that would revenge whoever dared to approach. Ignis knew that daemons were put off by the bright flood lights that filled outposts throughout what was left of the kingdom of Lucis. He also figured that the beast was probably just another daemon.





	To Break a Curse

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Gladio!  
> ... I managed to get this fic out on your birthday ... heh orz

“Didja hear? Some fool ran towards the house in the middle of the night and got themselves killed.” The old hunter slammed down the mug of beer hard onto the counter. In a booth in the corner of the diner, Ignis turned his head the direction of the balding man and his companion. “Headed out late last night and no one’s seen hide or tail of them since.”

“Serves them right,” the man’s companion spat out. “If they’re that desperate to throw their lives away for nothing, then I say we let them.”

“Ha, only fools would go out that way without any kind of protection or lighting. If the daemons don’t get you, the beast will.”

Ignis tuned them out and looked out the window of the diner. The bright lights that lined the outpost barely illuminated the thin patch of ground beyond the trees that surrounded it. If he squinted, he thought he could see something red-eyed and potentially with too much teeth staring back at him.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

People were always so superstitious. Words like ‘night’ and ‘day’ didn’t mean anything when the kingdom was covered in eternal night, but still people insisted on heading out ‘after dark’ least the daemons get you. Likely, this beast was possibly a larger daemon that roamed the woods. Nothing that would be too hard to take out with a bit of planning and some friends, but still the people of the outpost insisted it was too dangerous to head out to the house in the middle of the woods. (One that barely any people had been fortunate enough to see and only existed through hearsay and stories.)

Another glance out the window and the red-eyed thing from before was gone, faded into the never-ending night as if it had never been there. (Who knows? Maybe it hadn’t.)

…

There was a young woman standing at the edge of where the light reached, hand on her hips and torso bent as if it would help her see farther into the place where the light doesn’t reach. “Don’t walk into the woods,” Ignis said to her, the only acknowledgement he was comfortable giving to her presence. “There’s daemons out there.”

“Yeah, yeah, the daemons are repulsed by light so don’t go where it’s too dark. You’ll come across all sorts of baddies.” He shoved his glasses further up his head at the young woman’s snarky response. Well, if she knew about the daemons- “You sound just like my cousin does sometimes. He-“ The young woman’s shoulders suddenly drooped and she sighed as her head fell groundward. “-well he could get a bit overprotective sometimes.”

Ignis nodded, it was obviously a sore point for the young woman, and turned to leave when she straightened and pinned him with an intense gaze. “You know they say that there’s a house out there in the woods. But, mister, I looked and looked as hard as I could, but I don’t see anything. Was there a house there before the darkness came? Is that why people say it’s out there?” She pouted a bit and looked at him as though he had all the answers.

“I’m probably not the best person to ask that question miss,” Ignis finally managed to say after a long pause and a few false starts. “I only arrived at this outpost a week ago, but, if I had to assume, I would say that, yes, perhaps those who had lived here since before the night became never-ending knew of a house in the woods.”

The young woman seemed confused by his words. He was just able to make her mouth the words ‘night became never-ending’ quizzically in the faint light, her eyebrows knitted together. “Huh.” She turned towards the trees and tapped her lips. “That’s- hmm, say, mister-“ The young woman turned back to him. “Did the darkness spread before or after the night became never ending?”

Ignis blinked, taken aback by the question. “The nights grew longer and then the daemons came. What do you mean by darkness?”

There was a sharp inhale as the young woman muttered to herself and looked out to the woods. “Nothing,” she said after a moment, nodding to herself about something before she turned back to him and gave him a wide smile. “Nothing at all.”

He looked at her, clearly unconvinced by her strange behavior, and nodded a farewell to her and was about to step away when she called out to him for one final time. “Hey mister!”

He sighed as he wondered what she wanted this time. “What is it, miss?”

The young woman gave him a wry grin. “Here!” He watched as she pulled an unlit lantern out with one hand and held the other hand flat, palms up. Immediately a bright flame came into life in the air above her upturned hand. Ignis stepped back, eyes wide. Magic? How was that possible, the royal family was gone! Oblivious to his inner turmoil, the young woman hummed to herself as she transferred the bright ball of flame into the lantern and closed it. She held it out to him with a cheeky grin. “Take this. I bet you’re just as curious about what that house in the woods looks like and whether it’s actually there or not. The flame will keep burning as long as you don’t throw it into a lake. It’s a bit magical like that.” The young woman smiled to herself as if it was a joke to herself.

Ignis had a feeling he knew what that joke was, seeing as he knew how the fire came to be about. Cautiously he took the lantern from her, not completely trusting of whatever magic brought it to life. Beyond the dark hair and pale skin, the young woman didn’t look as though she was related to the royal family. She must have gotten her powers from other means. “And this will keep the daemons away? Forgive me for saying, it doesn’t seem bright enough.”

The young woman’s laughter filled the air and he scowled at her. “Oh, it’s brighter than it might seem, it just seems dark because you’re standing in a floodlight right now.” She gestured towards the lights behind him. “If my cousin were here, he’d definitely hook you up with a bright light of some kind but, uh, he’s not here right now.” She shrugged. “So, you’ll have to make do with me and my fire magic.” The young woman nodded to herself before she turned and walked away. “And don’t worry too much about how dim it seems to be, I think the daemons can sense the power behind it and won’t give you much trouble.”

Ignis watched her leave before he gave a hesitant stare at the lantern she gave him. Well, that was something to do for the day, he supposed. How lucky all he was going to do today was take a stroll around the outpost and then ask about recipes from the cook at the dinner. He frowned at himself and looked to the woods, taking a deep breath before he stepped beyond the protective lights of the outpost and into the darkness. The lantern held before him like some kind of a talisman.

(And really, wasn’t it a kind of talisman?)

…

Despite the reservations he had about the lantern, there seemed to be truth to the young woman’s words, and no daemons tried to attack him. Ignis could feel glowing red eyes full of malice follow him on his journey deeper through the woods, but, beyond a snarl here or there, nothing tried to hurt him.

The magical fire did its duty of both warding away the daemons and lighting his way. Truly remarkable given how much dimmer it was compared to the floodlights back at the outpost. Not for the first time did he wonder to himself where the young woman had come from, and if magic was as common as it was where she was from as it was rare here.

When the sight of a building came into view, Ignis stopped and stared at it. He couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing at first, he had spent close to an hour walking around the woods but had found nothing. Yet there, in a clearing in the middle of the woods, was a house. Well, it was a mansion really. (Whoever had said there was a house out in the middle of the woods had clearly never seen what a normal sized house looked like.)

Ignis stared at the mansion, three stories with a white stone façade and blue roof tiles that had obviously seen better days, before he took a deep breath and walked towards it. Perhaps the beast would be spooked by the light of the fire just as all the other daemons had been. Perhaps he’d find the corpse of whoever it was that had run towards it “last night”. (Assuming, of course, they hadn’t met their fate at the hands of the daemons that wandered the woods.)

He approached the mansion slowly, more content to observe the cracking stones around the property and the garden with its plants growing free and wild. The roses bushes had grown knotty and tangled, the hedges were unkempt, and apples and pears littered the bases of the trees they fell from.

Ignis furrowed his eyebrows as he gingerly stepped on the ground by one of the apple trees and reached up to pluck one of the red fruits off its lower branches. It seemed so strange to have a fruit bearing tree this far into the woods were no light reached with its branches full of apples. He wondered if the fruit would taste as good as it looked. His fingers had barely brushed against the skin of the apple when a loud voice roared behind him. “Don’t touch that!”

He whirled around and lifted his lantern in the direction of the distinctively masculine voice. Whoever he had expected to find behind him, this hadn’t been it. A tall figure with blazing amber eyes covered in dark brown fur. He would have called the figure a bear, but the shape of his torso and head didn’t quite match with pictures he had seen of bears. Quite plainly speaking, it was a beast and it didn’t seem to be afraid of the lantern he held in his hands. “What are you doing here,” the figured snarled at him.

Ignis refused to let himself be cowed by the thing, which was somehow both cognizant and capable of human speech (none of the story had mentioned those interesting tidbits), and pushed his glasses further up his nose with his free hand. “Well, I had been told there was a house in the woods, and I got curious-“

“-well you found it, now leave.”

“However, I have come across this apple tree and I find it fascinating that it still bears fruit. I had been hoping to try one-“

The beast roared again and, before he could react, reached to grab him with one paw. Ignis was tossed over the beast’s shoulder as he ambled with long, quick strides towards the mansion. It was all he could do not to keep the lantern from falling, gripping tightly onto its handle.

The beast didn’t give him much time to observe his surroundings and before long he felt himself get thrown roughly onto the ground of what appeared to be a cellar of some sort. He grunted as he hit the ground and he something scramble next to him. A quick look to the side revealed the figure to be a teenage girl with short brown hair and wide eyes. Around her neck hung a pendant that was glowing a bright red.

“You said no one was following you,” the beast roared at the teenage girl and Ignis opened his mouth to interject, but the teenager spoke before he could.

“There wasn’t anyone following me! Gladdy, you-“

“Don’t call me that!” Ignis’ eyes widened at the beast’s reaction. Gladdy? Did the beast have a name? (And how could the teenage girl have known that?) Before them the beast began to pace back and forth. “How do you know for certain no one is looking for you? It seems suspicious that someone appeared here mere hours after you swear that no one was following you.“

The teenager pouted. “Yeah, well, it’s the truth. I don’t remember seeing this guy at the outpost, and I was _super_ careful and aware of who was watching me that whole time Glad-“ The beast snarled in reaction to the name but didn’t otherwise react. “-Look you’ve obviously made some kind of mistake and you should just let the guy go, because he’s not involved in this at all.”

“And what’s to prevent him from going back and telling everyone what he saw here? Hmm?”

Both the beast’s and the teenager’s attention turned to Ignis who scoffed at them. The beast looked at Ignis, his eyes narrowed. The teenager spoke up before the beast could snap at them more. “Yeah? Well, what reason would he have to go back and _tell,_ huh? Maybe- maybe if someone was looking for him, but- I doubt-“ Ignis watched as the teenage girl’s face screwed up in anger as the beast started pacing back and forth again. “Would you stop pacing back and forth Gladdy? The guy’s not involved in this so you should just let him go!”

“Or maybe I should keep the both of you here just to make sure _neither_ of you tell.” The girl gasped in surprise as the beast stopped pacing and grinned at them with too much teeth. “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful plan. The two of you should stay here in this mansion with me as my _honored_ guests.”

The teenager started shouting at the beast as Ignis sighed and slumped against the wall. He rubbed his forehead, this was going to be a long day.

…

“So, I’m Iris. What’s your name?” The teenager was guiding him up the stairs of the mansion. He couldn’t help but notice the eerie blue glow that surrounded the walls and floors of the building. It was almost as if the building was covered in moonlight. Strange, when the moon hadn’t been seen in the sky for quite a while now and the idea of moonlight (much less sunlight) was almost the figment of a distant dream. “Um, you know it’s kinda rude not to say something when someone asks you something.”

“Oh, my apologies.” He blinked out of his thoughts and looked at the girl, Iris, who was grinning at him. “My name is Ignis Scientia, pleased to meet you Miss Iris.”

“Hehe, just Iris is fine. That’s what all my friends call me.” Iris danced and spun around in front of him before she came to rest in front of one the large wooden doors in the hallway, her hands clasped tightly behind her. “Hope you don’t mind if I’ve done some scouting ahead. Most of the rooms are rather, well, dusty, but this one was the least dusty I could find.” She pushed the door open to show a fairly spacious room with a large dresser standing by the adjacent wall and a four-poster bed on the other side, the curtains open to reveal a dark, starless sky.

Ignis walked into the room and carefully inspected the furniture of what appeared to be a guest bedroom. There was the dresser, large and ornately carved, that he had caught a peek of in the doorway. There were a pair of two cabinets shoved together. There was a small mirror on one and four vases with wilting flowers in strategic spots on the cabinets. He pulled open one of the drawers and was unsurprised to find it empty.

On the other side of the room was the four-poster bed and a bedside table with a drawer. Another vase of what looked to be wilting roses sat on the table. There was a shaggy rug on the floor by the bed that had clearly seen better days. “Rather sparse isn’t it?”

The teenager chuckled and shifted her weight from side to side. “Heh, well these are guest bedrooms. So many people come through here it’s kinda hard to decorate them to what a person wants. Although-“ She trailed off and tapped a finger to her mouth. “Most of these rooms come with a table and some chairs, in case someone wants to sit and chat.” She removed her hand and shrugged her shoulders. “Funny I didn’t notice that coming through here the first time around, guess I just wasn’t paying attention much.”

Ignis looked towards the teenager, his forehead furrowed and gaze unsure. “Would- someone want to come through and chat? Pardon me for saying so, but, it seems that you and I are the only “guests” staying here?”

Iris chuckled and nodded towards her right. “Mhmm, I’m in the room right next to you so I guess I’ll be dragging you to _my_ room if I want to talk huh?” She gave him a little wave before she ducked out of his room. “Well, I’m going to call it a night. Shouting at Gladdy has got me beat, just shout if you need anything, and, uh, you know where the kitchen is, dining hall is right next to it, and, hmm, there’s a ballroom on the first floor that leads out to the back and the library is on the second floor- somewhere!” Ignis could only stare in the direction of the voice before she popped her head back into the room. “Night Iggy! Sleep well.”

Ignis blinked before he removed his glasses and got ready for bed. There was a set of pajamas on the bed, just in his size, and he wondered if Iris had laid it out for him beforehand. (The only other possibility would have been “Gladdy” but he couldn’t imagine the beast choosing a set of pajamas and putting it on the bed so delicately.) It was strange that Iris knew so much about this place, he thought to himself as he slipped in between the blankets and closed his eyes. It was almost as though she had been here before.

…

_He was in an apple grove. The occasional leaf was shaken off the trees as the wind rustled through them. Underneath of the trees, he could see a man eating an apple, in his lap a book lay open. Ignis stared at the man before he shoved his glasses further up his nose and walked towards him._

_“You’re new,” the man said before he flipped a page in his book, not even glancing up at Ignis. “Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”_

_Ignis stared down at the man, a muscular brunette with handsome features. “Yes, well, I’ve arrived yesterday actually. So, I wouldn’t expect you to have seen you around. My name is-“_

_“-Ignis Scientia.” The man looked away from his book and looked up at him. Ignis was struck by the man’s calm brown eyes. Moments later, the bored look on the man’s face was replaced by a soft smile. “I know, my sister told me about you.”_

_“Your- your sister?” Ignis took a step back, opened his mouth as if to say something and then closed it a moment later. “I- I wasn’t aware you had a sister.”_

_The man gave a bark of laughter as he pushed himself up, the book tumbling onto the ground. “Eh, she’s several years younger than me, but, yeah, I have a sister. You probably met her coming through here and didn’t know who she was.” The man held a hand out for him to shake. “The name’s Gladio.”_

_“Gladio?” He raised an eyebrow as he took the man’s hand to shake. “Is that your full name or is it short for something?”_

_Another bark of laughter from the man. “It’s short for Gladiolus, Gladiolus Amicita. My family has a thing for flower names.” Gladio gave a wry grin and let go of his hand when he saw Ignis freeze and look at him with shock. “You recognize me then.”_

_“You’re- you’re the prince’s shield!”_

_Gladio nodded. “Yep, that’s me.”_

_“But how?” Ignis continued to stare at Gladio in shock. “The prince disappeared with the fall of Insomnia, and, as the prince’s shield, you were supposed to be by his side.” He stared at the man in front of him as if Gladio could answer all his unspoken questions, but the man only stared straight back at him with a carefully guarded expression. “Why are you here? Where is the prince? How am I-“_

_“-that’s a lot to be asking someone at the first meeting isn’t it?” Gladio glanced at him and then leaned down to pick up the book that had fallen. “Let’s just say that the prince and I ended up separated and before the city fell and that’s why you see me here. I- I wanted to be by his side but-“ The man inhaled shakily before he looked at him, book held securely against his chest. “-let’s just say there’s a reason why I’m here and not in Insomnia right now.” Gladio gave him a rueful grin before he looked up at the sky. The man nodded to himself before he looked back down at Ignis. “I think it’s time for us to part now, hopefully we’ll meet each other again, hmm?”_

_The man gave him a wave and the scenery began to fade before Ignis could utter another word._

…

Ignis woke up to silence. The outpost always had some noise around, whether it be from the guards going on their route around the perimeter or from people gathered outside just to talk and swap war stories. To hear nothing but silence and the wind was odd.

It was cold out in the mansion. Not surprising given its age and how he doubted there were servants out and about to heat the place up. The rooms and halls of the mansion were lit by the eerie blue glow from before. It wasn’t until he was almost on the first floor that he noticed the lamps along the walls had been lit. He furrowed his eyebrows. So, there was a servant of some sort in the mansion then? Or had they been lit by magic?

The answer came soon enough when the unlit wall lamps behind him flared to life. Ignis felt the hairs on his back stand still and he shuddered. Magic blue glow and magic lamps, well that made sense. “What are you doing up?”

He jumped at the noise and turned around to face the beast walking down the stairs. One arm was raised to hold a lantern of one kind and the other seemed to have a book tucked underneath it. He also couldn’t help but notice the beast was wearing a robe of some kind, tied neatly around the middle. “Well,” the beast growled when Ignis continued to stare at him. “I asked you a question, didn’t I?”

“I- I’m sorry. I was just-“ His stomach chose to growl just then, answering his question for him. “-the kitchens, I was headed to the kitchens for a bite to eat.”

“You could have just said that, I was headed there myself.” He couldn’t help but stare at the book, a hard cover that appeared to be bound in dark brown leather, tucked beneath one arm as the beast passed. It didn’t take long for the beast to notice that he was staring. “Why are you standing there? Weren’t you headed towards the kitchens?”

“Oh, uh, yes I was.” The beast grunted and he ended up following him at a sedate pace towards the kitchen. Ignis tried to read the cover of the book that the beast had tucked under his arm. Didn’t Iris say there was a library somewhere on the second floor? Perhaps he should-

“You’re still staring, Ignis.” Ignis looked away from the book and up to the beast who met his gaze from over his shoulder before moving his head away. “Out with it, I prefer to not have to read your mind.”

Ignis opened and closed his mouth as he tried to think of how to respond. It was funny, the beast had called him Ignis, but had he ever introduced himself to him? He shoved his glasses up his nose, another mystery it seemed. “Does that mean you can _read_ minds then?”

The beast snorted, “what do you take me for here?”

“Right.” Best not to annoy the beast who could probably tear him from limb to limb, and so early too. He hadn’t even gotten his “morning” coffee yet. “I wasn’t aware that you could read.”

A growl this time. “So, you think me some uncultured musclehead whose only good for breaking things, hmm? Well, you’d be wrong, I can read, and I enjoy reading too.” The beast removed the book from under his arm to show Ignis. He traced the titled etched into the hard leather of the cover in gold ink.

“Love, the legacy of cain?”

“Yes, there’s a short story in here that I heard reference to elsewhere, and I’ve grown fond of it.” A companionable silence fell upon the two as the beast tucked the book under his arm. Ignis found himself musing on the strangeness of a beast that could both read and speak. Or perhaps it wasn’t so strange, perhaps the beast was-

“We’re here,” the beast growled suddenly when they arrived at the edge of the kitchen. “Make yourself at home. It’s _amply_ stocked you’ll find.” The beast muttered something beneath his breath as Ignis wandered cautiously into the kitchen. Looking around at the cupboards and the plates of food on the table in the middle, he found it was indeed amply stocked.

But it was strange for food to be prepared without anyone around to prepare it. “Are there servants around,” he asked as he picked up a mug of steaming hot coffee from off the table.

“No, they all left when- left soon after I came here.” The beast picked up a plate between two massive paws and tilted it so the eggs and bacon would fall into his mouth. “The food is provided by- by the same reason we don’t get attacked by daemons at night,” the beast said with his mouth full.

Ignis frowned as he sipped his coffee and mulled over what he had been told. It would make sense for the servants to leave soon after the beast arrived, his monstrous form had no doubt scared them into thinking that he was a demon of some kind come to kill them. But he wasn’t, he was conscious and aware in the way no demon he had ever seen was. Clearly, the beast was well educated, and to have come _here_ instead of roughing it out in the woods- And what was this about the food? The beast had said that it had come from the same reason they weren’t attacked by daemons at night. He thought back to the blue glow around the house and the wall sconces that lit themselves as if by- That was it! Magic. This was all because of magic.

He looked over at the beast and wondered if magic had anything to do with his form. The beast certainly didn’t _act_ like some kind of mindless beast. He came to the kitchen to eat from plates stacked with food, well eat from plates as well as he could given the size of his paws. Ignis gave the forks next to the plates a dubious look. They all seemed so small; it wouldn’t have taken long for the beast to figure out he wouldn’t be able to grip them well. Was this why the beast had taken to sliding the food off the plates into his mouth instead? He could simply grip onto the sides of the plate as he was doing now. Ignis tsk’d to himself. “Last night, Iris mentioned a library. I don’t suppose that would be where you got that book would it?”

The beast had set the plate down at the table and gave him a long appraising look. “Bored now? And a fellow reader? This guy-“ The beast held up the book in emphasis. “-actually came from a private collection of mine, but I could show you were the library is. Maybe even give you recommendations if you can tell me what you’re looking for.”

Ignis smiled into his cup of coffee. “I would like that very much, thank you.”

…

_“There’s a beast in the mansion I’m staying at,” Ignis said to Gladio. They were sitting in the same apple orchard from before and Gladio was sitting against a tree reading something. The man grunted and flipped the page of the book he was reading to show he had heard. He bit into the apple he had in his hands, red, juicy, and crisp. On the grass around them lay fallen red apples in various stages of decay. But in front of them someone had stacked a pile of perfect red apples into a pyramid._

_Ignis watched as Gladio plucked the topmost apple off the pile. “Go on,” the man said, pausing between chews. “I think there’s more to it than that.”_

_He hmm’d and continued. “It’s strange, the beast is like no beast that I’ve seen before. He reads, which means he must have been taught to do so at some point, and he is well spoken.” He looked up into that brilliant blue sky and wondered how long it had been since he had seen the color blue in quite that shade. Months maybe, perhaps even years by now. The endless night had been long and dragged on his psyche. “There is a library at the mansion, on the second floor as Iris said it would be. He showed it to me, and we had a long day reading and conversing about books. He really is well read, you know.”_

_Gladio gave a little hum to acknowledge he was heard, and Ignis watched as his eyes skimmed down the page. “Perhaps, the beast wasn’t a beast once,” the man said slowly after a moment. “Perhaps, once the beast was a man.”_

_“A well read and plainly spoken one,” Ignis agreed. “But a man, nonetheless.” Gladio gave another grunt and his head turned to the other page in of the book. Curious, he leaned over Gladio’s shoulder to get a look at what he was reading. Gladio raised an arm to bring him closer and he curled up next the man. It was warm, curled up into Gladio’s side, and Ignis gave a small grin when the man moved the book so they could both read it. “What are you reading?”_

_Gladio just hummed as with the arm wrapped around Ignis he flipped the pages so they could both start at the beginning. “Venus in Furs,” the man replied. “It’s about a man who desires to submit to the woman that he loves and about the inevitable nature of unequal relationships.” Ignis hummed as his eyes began to scan the page._

_Gladio cleared his throat, “would you like me to read it to you?”_

_“If you wish.”_

_The dream ended with Gladio’s voice, deep but soft, lulling him awake as he read from the pages._

…

“I knew I’d find you here!” Iris grinned as she burst into the library in a fit of youthful exuberance. The grin faded somehow before coming back twice as big when she spotted Ignis sitting next to the beast. “Oh, you have a friend with you too. Hey there, Ignis, I didn’t know you liked reading too.”

“Hello there, Iris,” Ignis greeted from where he sat next to the beast. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in another. At a table besides the rather comfy chair he was sitting in, was a small stack of books. He offered her a soft grin and looked up from the book he was reading.

The beast just kept reading and only grunted. “What are you doing here, Iris? Finally decided reading is fun?”

“Pssh, Gladdy,” the teenager teased as she skipped into a spot behind the beast’s chair. Ignis couldn’t help but notice how close the two seemed as she propped her head on the back of the chair and leaned into the beast’s space to get a better look at what he was reading. She didn’t seem to care the beast was a beast and, his eyes narrowed as the gears in his head began to turn, she was awfully familiar with the beast, wasn’t she? “Watchu reading? And besides, you know that exploring the garden is more fun than being stuck indoors with a boring book.”

“Don’t go outdoors, Iris, it’s dangerous out there.” There wasn’t much bite to the beast’s words, as if he was warning her not to wander into a deep pond rather than out into the darkness where daemons lurked. Ignis frowned and wondered if he should say anything to the teen, but the beast beat him to it. “Besides, you only think it’s boring because you haven’t found the right book yet.”

Blank faced, Iris leaned forward and squinted at the words on the page. “Oh, yes because reading about … giant cockroaches? Ew! That sounds so much fun or maybe you just have a shit taste in books.” With a sigh the beast pushed the teen away with one paw, more gently than should have been possible, and Iris made a face before shoving the beast’s shoulder. “Ugh, you’re going to give me more nightmares than the daemons, giant cockroaches with warm underbellies? _Ugh_ , that’s _disgusting_.”

“Or maybe you can’t appreciate a classic,” the beast retorted. “Just because _you_ hated the books that you had to read for school, doesn’t mean that there weren’t any good ones. I find The Metamorphosis by Kafka _fascinating_ for example.”

“Man turning into a giant cockroach whose family hates him? Oh yeah, you would.” The teenager shoved the beast again, a little rougher this time. “Find some kinship with Samsa don’t you?” The beast gave her a tired look before turning back to his book. “I mean, sure there were _some_ good books in school. Flowers for Algernon was pretty good.” She ignored the beast’s muttered ‘you liked it because it was short’. “And Of Mice and Men was also interesting even if the ending was quite sad.” The beast muttered something about there being a pattern of short books that was again ignored. “But Gladdy, you never know what I might find in the garden.” She danced around until she was in front of the beast and pushed his book down so they were looking around each other. A mischievous smile played on her face. “Maybe I’ll even find some secret princes in the gardens.”

The beast sighed and gave her a tired look, all amusement gone. “There’s no secret princes in the gardens or anywhere on the ground. I checked. Everyone left soon after I arrived.”

“You sure?” Iris seemed unconvinced. “I mean, it used to be that prince-“

“-there are no princes, secret or otherwise on the grounds, Iris. When I came, I came here alone, and no one came with me.” The beast seemed pained as he made his pronouncement. “I- I should have stayed at his side. It was what was expected of me. But when-“ The beast couldn’t speak and Iris came up to him to wrap her arms around his shoulders.

“It’s okay, Gladdy.” Furry arms came up to bring Iris closer to him and the two just stayed there, taking comfort in each other’s company, Iris half dragged onto the beast’s lap and the book laying forgotten on the arm of the chair. Ignis looked away, feeling like he was disturbing something that should only belong to the two of them. “Besides, I think your prince charming might be closer than you think.” Ignis looked up to meet with Iris’ gaze. He raised an eyebrow before closing his book, having grown bored of it, and looking at the next one on his list.

“Right. Kid was more of a prince charmless than a prince charming.”

Ignis perked up when he noticed the next book was a paperback version of the one he had seen the beast carrying the other day. Humming to himself he flipped it open to the index and froze when a certain title jumped out at him. “Venus in furs,” he breathed out, his hands trembling ever so. Wasn’t that the favorite story of the man in his dream? (Slowly, everything was starting to come together.)

…

_They were in the apple grove together, this time Ignis was leaning against Gladio and Gladio appeared to be dozing. He waited for the man to rouse, a book open in his lap, before he spoke. “You remember the beast I told you about in the mansion?”_

_Gladio frowned before he looked at him. One of the man’s arms was slung casually around him, Ignis couldn’t help but notice. “Yeah? What about it?”_

_Ignis took a deep breath before he turned to face Gladio. “Are you the beast?” Gladio looked away, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. That reaction combined with the barely imperceptible nod gave him all the confirmation that he needed. “What happened? Have you been here all this time?”_

_“Yeah, yeah I have been. Ever since I- ever since what happened. I’ve been here.” Gladio gave a shaky sigh before he looked back up at Ignis. “You must understand, as the shield of the prince, I never meant to leave him behind like that. It’s just that, with what happened-“ Gladio turned his head away. “-everyone was so scared of me, and I couldn’t protect him like that. I couldn’t have him afraid of me either.” The man sighed heavily, shaking his head, before looking back at Ignis. “So I came here, intending to rot away, completely forgotten. This was an old vacation home of my family’s, but-“_

_“But?”_

_A pause and a shrug. “Darkness fell, and even with the servants gone there was still food and the daemons were driven away by an unearthly light. You know the story.”_

_The story it might have been but Ignis got the sense there were still loose ends that wasn’t being told here. He gently prodded Gladio for more information. “And Iris?”_

_“My younger sister. I thought she was safe with family elsewhere, but it seems like she always wondered what became of her favorite brother.” Gladio picked up the book off his lap and shut it closed._

_“And the curse? How do we break it?” He frowned as he mulled over what had been told to him._

_Tired eyes met his determined ones. “Someone must fall in love with the beast, and seal that love with a kiss. Only then will the curse break, and the magic end.” He was given a weak smile by Gladio before the man removed his hand from where it rested on his shoulder._

_Ignis pressed their heads together before Gladio could move much further away. “I’ll see what I can do,” he whispered into the man’s mouth before he leaned forward and kissed him softly. The dream faded into a bright white light._

…

As Iris had mentioned, Gladio’s room, unlike his, did indeed have a table and chairs tucked away in the corner for visitors. It also had walls lined with bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books and knick knacks. It looked like a room that was lived in by its occupant, and, from what he knew, it probably had been.

Ignis crept forward and gently came upon Gladio’s bed, where a large figure was wrapped up in thick quilts. He could just see some brown fur peeking out from underneath, brown like Gladio’s hair. He slipped under the quilt and sighed. It was warm underneath here. He could have doze off like this, under a warm quilt snuggled up against Gladio’s furry form. He would have too, except there was something for him to do.

He brushed along the fur on Gladio’s face, feeling the strong bone structure beneath it. A bone structure he could only see in the dream. Gladio was turned toward him and he spent a moment running his hands along his cheeks, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. If he squinted, he could make out the handsome face that was Gladio’s beneath the form. The beast slumbered on. He leaned forward.

“Time to wake up my love,” Ignis murmured against Gladio’s mouth. “You’ve slept for far too long.” Gladio’s eyes snapped open in shock when their lips met, and power surged through them. He swallowed the screams and moans as the fur receded and Gladio’s form shrank into its normal human sized form. Still big enough to envelop Ignis like an oversized blanket, but no longer quite as huge or monstrous.

Ignis pulled back. “I think that broke it.”

Gladio kissed him once more, slow and languorous. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the blue glow on the floors and walls flicker and fade. Now that the curse was broken, it would make sense that the magic that kept this place safe and habitable would be fading too. Gladio yanked Ignis out of the bed. “Which means the magic supporting this place is probably gone too. Come on, we need to get out of here before the daemons come.”

Ignis pulled him back when he tried to run out of the room without any clothing on. In his closet, there was an old shirt from his crownsguard training days and a dark jacket and some pants. He slipped them on, as well as the socks and boots that Ignis got for him, before they left the room.

They found Iris in the kitchen with a familiar lantern that hasn’t gone out despite all the time that had passed (Ignis had been wondering where that thing went), and the three of them stole back to the outpost. The mansion left to the darkness and daemons.


End file.
